{PHFR}Hairs and Prayers!

{pretty}

Or Funny?  Meg has learned (with the help of YouTube, I think) to put her hair in a bow.  She has been doing it every day, and it's cute, but I am Not. a. Fan. of the bun on top of the the head!
{happy} I have gathered my candles for Candlemas on Saturday, assuming I can make it there.  I got some from Trader Joes, found a couple of new votives, and also found my emergency stash of Advent candles that I had lost!
{funny}

Curling my hair with the "headband method" that I learned from Pinterest.  It's pretty easy to do, and it keeps it out of my face in the mornings at the school table, and then it has nice, big curls when I take it out later.  For my hair, which is "straight as a stick" (Thanks, Mom+), this is awesome.  It takes a while for it to dry (I start with it damp), but it beats standing around with a curling iron!  I could even answer the door, or walk the dog, with it up.  I'd rather not, but I could....
{real}

Lots of prayers going up for too many friends in need!  But our Blessed Mother can handle it, if anyone can.

January Knits

 I finished Susie's Reading Mitts that I told you about a couple of weeks ago.  Yarn info is in that post, too. They were pretty quick, not difficult, and fun.  I especially like the surprise scalloped edge that I didn't see coming! I thought they might be good for blogging, and I'm wearing them now, so I can tell you that they aren't.  Particularly.  They're just a little too snug around the hand to allow my pinkies to stretch out fully and reach those shift keys!  But I wouldn't want them any looser, either, so I'll just have to blog with cold fingers.

I had 3 skeins of that yarn, and the mitts used a tiny bit more than one.  I was able to make this long-awaited slouch beanie with the rest of it (I have a tiny little ball left!) which my my girl loves.  She has been wearing it ever since I finished it.  I think I'd like a turn with it because the yarn is so soft and light and warm.  It's delicious.  I don't usually say that about yarn, but it is!

 Cute cables ended just in time, because I had had quite enough of them!

She's such a doll;  I think she deserves an adorable hat.

I Want it Now...Book Review

I did a very Veruca Salt thing a couple of weeks ago, and grabbed this book when it was free on Kindle!  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of my favorite childhood movies that I have enjoyed sharing with my own children, so I thought I would get a kick out of reading Julie Dawn Cole's memoir.

I was afraid, at first, that after sharing her Willy Wonka escapades the book would deteriorate into her own sordid, life story, as have other memoirs that I've read.  And that sort of ruins the show from then on.  Though Julie does continue into Life After Wonka, her life is not a very sordid one (or she kept the worst stuff to herself out of respect for her readers!)

This was a fun book to read, learning about the interesting facts behind-the-scenes, and some of the techniques the director used to heighten the awe-factor of the chocolate factory.  The 2 girls, Violet and Veruca, became very good friends off-set, and both had crushes on sweet Charlie.  Mike TeeVee was just as obnoxious in real life as he was on screen!  I think Gene Wilder probably pulled his hair out (when they entered the Chocolate Room) as a way to get back at him for being a pest!  After reading this one, I think I'd like to hear the stories from the other children, too, to get their perspectives!

Dying to watch the movie again, I was thrilled to find the DVD at Tarjay the other day for only $5!  We've watched it twice since I bought it on Saturday, and I love it every time.  It even has a sing-along special feature!  Yes!!!

Have you seen it?  Read it?  More importantly, how do you compare the old Willy Wonka movie with the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?  I think the new movie is more faithful to the original book, but it lacks charm and exudes more creepiness in my opinion.



A very interesting detail is that the title of the original book is "Charlie and..." but the old movie was titled "Willy Wonka".  Did you ever wonder why?  As a kid I hadn't read the book, so I didn't know or care, but I did wonder why there wasn't a real Wonka Bar.  Evidently, there was supposed to be one put out by Quaker Oats, but the formula failed and the Wonka Bars were melting in the boxes, so that early promotional tie-in to the movie was lost!  I don't know why they haven't remedied that situation, but maybe they'll get on the ball for the 50th anniversary in 2021.